Reserve tray for refrigerators



March 1l, 1941. s. GNczl RESERVE TRAY FOR REFRIGERATORS Filed Feb. 3, 1940 do co. ...o no cn cle.

.lNvEygl-on .5b/pizze Garz csc BY me?.

Mar. 1-1, 1941 NrrED STATE-s PATENT 0F ice provementsfln a reserve tray for refrigerators.

More specifically, the invention proposes the construction of a'reserve tray which is adapted to be mounted' within the food compartment of a household refrigerator and upon and below the ice cube freezing compartment in a manner so that the cold air passing from the cube freezing compartment may pass into the reserve tray for causing the interior thereof to be chilled to the same temperature as the cube freezing compartment.

Another object of this invention proposes to characterize the reserve tray by a container 4rnounted beneath the ice cube freezing compartment and into which meats may be stored, ice cream frozen, vegetables kept fresh, and which may be further used for storing ice cubes removed from fthe ice cube trays while other cubes are frozen in the trays.

Still further the invention proposes the provision ofv a shutter for controlling the passage of cold air from the ice cube freezing compartment to the reserve tray in a'. manner to control the inside temperature thereof.

.fi further object of this invention proposes the provision of a second shutter mounted upon the iront of the reserve tray so that the same may he opened to permit the cold air from the interior of said reserve tray to pass into said food compartment in a. manner to permit the cold air to escape from said reserve tray.

Still furthery the invention proposes the provision of a means extended between said shutters in a manner for closing one of said shutters when lthe other of said shutters is open, and vice versa, to control the temperature within said reserve tray as desired,

lior further comprehension of the invention,

and Vof the objects and advantages thereof, reference will be had to the following description and acompanying drawing, and to the appended claims in which the various novel features of the invention are more particularly set forth.

In the accompanying drawing forming a material part of this disclosure:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view ofa household refrigerator having a reserve tray, according to this invention, mounted on the ice cube freezing compartment.

Fig. 2 is an'enlarged detailed view of aportion of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional'view on the line 3--3 of Fig. 2.

Fig, 4 is a vertical sectional view on the line 4--4 of Fig. 2. i i,

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detailed view looking in the direction of the line 5 5 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged elevational view Asimilar 5 to a portion of Fig. 2 but illustrating a modiflcation of the invention. Y

' Fig. 'I is a vertical sectional view substantially on the line 1-1 of Fig 6.

Fig. 8 is a. fragmentary view of the refriger- 10 ator, illustrating another form 'of the' invention. lThe reserve'tray for refrigerators is to be used in conjunctionwith a household refrigerator i0 having a food storage compartment Ina closed by means of a hingedly mounted door II. l5 The refrigerator I0 has anice cube freezing com partment I2 mounted Within the top portion thereof. This compartment I2 is formed with a front opening into which a plurality of ice trays are adapted to be inserted` and which is nor- 2C! mally closed by means of a removable door I3 having a pair of handles.l I3a for facilitating the removal thereof.

Irihe reserve tray, according to this invention.

is in the form of a compartment or container I4 25 mounted upon the bottom of the ice cube freezing compartment by means oi.V strip I5 extending along the sides thereof. Screws I6 are passed through the strips i5 and into the respective faces of the ice cube compartment i2 and the 30 reserve tray il for holding the tray in position upon the loottoln thereof. This reserve tray Il is formed with a front opening Ila connecting with the interior thereof and which is closed by means of a removable door i1. This door ad- 35 jacent its top andbottom edges is provided with handles ila. which are adapted to Abe Vmanually grasped and used for removing the door when it'is desired to open the said front opening,

. A novel means is provided for holding the door 40 IT in position across the front opening of the reserve tray Il. To accomplish this the reserve tray is provided with an outwardly extending iia'nge Ila around the front opening thereof and over which an inwardly extending :Bange l'lb 45V formed on the door I1 isadapted to engage. lThe flange Ila is -provided with a plurality of outwardly extending pins I8 which'are adapted to engage downwardly inclined slots I9 formed "in,

the flange Hh of the door I'I. The bottom of 50j the door I1 is not formed with any iiange for permitting the door l1 to be moved downwards and inwards relative to the: reserve tray Vfor engaging the cover i1 across the front opening of the tray. 55

A shutter is provided for controlling the passage of cold air from the freezing compartment I2 to the reserve tray I4. This shutter comprises a slide 20 mounted within a groove 20a formed partially within the top face of the reserve tray I4 andthe bottom face of the ice cube freezing compartment I2. 'I'his tray is slidably mounted by means of pins 2I extending from the bottom face of the groove 20a and engaging complementary slots 22 formed in the slide 2|). The slide 20 is provided with a plurality of openings 23 which are adapted to be aligned or disaligned with a plurality of complementary openings 24 formed in the top of the reserve tray i4 and bottom of the ice cube freezing compartment I2. 'I'he front edge of the slide 20 is provided with a knob 25 i'or facilitating the movement thereof to align and disalign the openings 23 and 24. When the slide 20 is in its outwardly extended position as shown in Fig, 3, the openings are disaligned, and when pushed inwards the openings become aligned, forming a free passage for cold air from the freezing compartment I2 to the reserve tray I4.

The door II of the freezing compartment I4 is further provided with a second shutter for controlling the passage ofair from the interior of the reserve tray to the interior of the food compartment IIIa of the refrigerator I0. 'I'his shutter is in the form of a disc 26 rotatively supported on the door I1 by means of a pin 21. 'Ihe disc 26 is formed with moon-shaped opening 26a which is adapted to be aligned with a complementary moon-shaped opening IIc formed in the front of the tray I4 and more preferably in the door II. When these openings are aligned the cold air within the reserve tray I4 may freely passtherethrough and into the interior of the food compartment Illa. The disc is provided with a handle23 for facilitating the rotation of the disc 26 to align and disalign the openings 26a and I'Ic. y

'I'he operation of this form of the invention y is as follows:

, of preserving ice cubes, chilling drinks, freezing ice cream or other similar uses requiring extreme cold, the disc 26 is rotated to disalign the openings 26a and I'Ic and the slide 20 is moved to align the openings 23 and 24 to permit the cold air to freely pass from the ice cube freezing .compartment I2 to the reserve tray I4 for the thoroughly chilling the interior thereof. At such times when it is desired to preserve vegetables, meats or other foodstuifs without freezing the same, and still maintain the foods at a temperature lower than the temperature of the food compartment I 0a, the same is placed within the reserve tray I4 and the slide 26 is moved outwards to disalign the `openings 23 and 24 to prevent the free passage of cold air from the ice cube freezing compartment to the reserve tray. At the same time the disc 26 is rotated to align the openings 26a and I'Ic to permit the cold air to pms from the reserve tray to cause the temperature within the tray to rise to a point where the foodstuffs placed therein will not freeze.

According to the modification of the invention shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the construction of the reserve tray is similar to that previously y described except that the reserve tray I4 is in the form of a container removably mounted upon the bottom oi' the ice cube freezing compartment in a manner to permit the same to be removed therefrom when desired. To accomplish this the bottom of the ice cube freezing compartment I2 is formed with downwardly extending flanges i2a having inwardly extending tracks I2b. These tracks |21) engage complementary grooves I4b formed in the sides of the reserve tray I4 for slidably and releasably holding the reserve tray in position upon the bottom of the ice cube freezing compartment. A

The interior of this reserve tray I4 is further provided with an inwardly extending flange I4c upon which a removable shelf 30 is adapted to be rested. This shelf 30 is so constructed that it may be removed when desired through the top opening of the reserve tray i4. 'Ihe front of the reserve tray is further provided with a handle 3l xedly secured to thetop edge thereof and which may be grasped for sliding thetray out of the refrigerator when desired.

This form of the invention is further provided with a means for closing the shutter 20 arranged between the ice cube freezing compartment and the reserve tray I4' when the shutter 2B is opened and for opening the shutter 20 when the shutter 26 is closed. To accomplish this the pin 2'I which rotatively supports the shutter 26 carries an enlarged cam 32. This cam is contained within an inwardly extending slot 33 formed in the front v wall of the reserve tray I4". Further, the shutter 20 is formed at one side with an extending lug 20h carrying a pin 20c. 'I'he space between the ice cube freezing compartment I2 and the reserve tray I4 is formed with an enlarged opening 33a within which a bell crank 34 is pivotally supported. One arm of the bell crank 34 is provided with an elongated slot 34a engaging the pin 20c of the lug Zlib. The junction of the arms of the bell crank 34 is provided with a slot 34h which slidably and rotatively engages a pin 35 extending between the walls of the enlarged opening 33. Y

The shutter 26 is provided with a means for limiting its rotation through substantially 180 and comprises a pin 36 mounted upon the front wall of the reserve tray I4 and which engages a 180 arcuately shaped cutout formed on a portion of the periphery of the disc shaped shutter 26. The pin 36 is adapted to engage the ends of the arcuately shaped cutout for limiting the rotation of this disc.

The operation of this form of the invention is as follows:

As shown in Fig. 6 the shutter 26 is in its open position and the shutter 20' is in its closed position. Assume that it is desired to reverse the position of these shutters for permitting the reserve tray to be used for storing ice cubes or other food material requiring an extremely low temperature. To accomplish this the material to be stored within the reserve tray are placed therein and the tray is engaged in position upon the bottom of the ice cube freezing compartment i2. Thehandle 28 of the disc shaped shutter 26 is then manually grasped and the shutter 26 rotated to cause the same to engage across the opening I'Ic in the front of the reserve tray I4 for closing this opening. This movement also caused the cam 32 to rotate until it engages the bottom end of the free arm of the bell crank 34. Upon engagement, the bell crank 34 was moved slightly upwards until the pin 35 struck against position. After passing the free end of the bell crank 34 the bell crank will move down due to the force of gravity until the pin 35 rests against the top end of the slot 34h.

When it is desired to restore the shutters 26 and 20 to the positions shown in Fig. 6, it is merely necessary to rotate the disc shaped shutter 26 back to its starting position which will also cause the cam 32 to be rotated which will strike against the free arm of the bell crank 34 which is dropped down to a position to be struck by the cam causing the bell crank t'o be pivoted and urge the shutter 20 back to its closed position. When long periods of time are permitted to elapse between movements of the slide 20 and slide becomes frozen in position it might be necessary to defrost'the refrigerator to free the slide.

As shown in Fig. 8 the reserve tray I4 mayv also be used as a separate unit and be independent from the compartments I2. In this form of the invention, the freezing pipe 40 is extended at 4I to surround the reserve tray I4. The freezing pipes 40 and 4I may be joined or disconnected by suitable fittings 42.

It is also to be understood that the shelf 30 may be raised or lowered or entirely removed-to make room for larger products. Any desired number of shelves may be used and they may be constructed of wire-mesh or any other suitable material.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the precise construction herein disclosed and the right is reserved to all changes and modifications e coming within the scope of .the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

1. In combination with a household refrigerator having a food storage compartment and an ice cube freezing compartment therein, a reserve tray compartment within said'storage compartment and mounted on and beneath said freezing compartment, a shutter controlling an air passage from the freezing compartment to the tray compartment, and another shutter controlling an air passage from the tray compartment to said food storage compartment.

2. In combination with a household refrigerator having a food storage compartment and an ice cube freezing compartment therein, a reserve tray compartment within said storage compartment and mounted on and beneath said freezing compartment, a shutter controlling an air passage from the freezing compartment to the tray compartment, and another shutter controlling an air passage from the tray compartment y to said food storage compartment, said reserve tray compartment being in the form of a container mounted upon the bottom of the ice cube freezing compartment.

3. In combination with a household refrigeraltor having a food storage compartment and an i serve tray compartment within said storage compartment and mounted on and beneath said freezing compartment. a shutter controlling an air passage from the freezing compartment to the tray compartment, and another shutter con-` trolling an air passage from the tray compart- .ment to said food storage compartment, said first mentioned shutter comprising a slide supported within a groove partially formed in the top face of said reserve tray on the bottom face of said freezing compartment, said slide being formed with openings alignable with complementarily arranged openings formed in said reserve tray and said freezing compartment, and means for limiting the movement of said slide to a position in which said openings will be aligned or disaligned, said means comprising pins extending from the bottom face of said groove and engaging complementary elongated slots formed in said slide.

5. In combination with a household refrigerator having a food storage compartment and an ice cube freezing compartment therein, a reserve tray' compartment within said storage compartment and mounted on and beneath said freezing compartment, a shutter controlling an air passage from the freezing compartment to the tray compartment, and another shutter controlling an air passage from the tray compartment to said food storage compartment, said first mentioned shutter comprising a slide sup-l ported within a groove partially formed in the top face of said reserve tray on the bottom face of said freezing compartment, said slide being formed with openings alignable with complementarily arranged openingsformed in said reserve tray and said freezingcompartment, and means for limiting the movement of said slide to a position in which said openings will be aligned or disaligned, said means comprising pins extending from the bottom face of said groove and engaging complementary elongated slots formed in said slide, said slide being formed with a handle for facilitating the movement thereof to align and disalignsaid openings.

6. In combination with a household refrigerator having a food storage compartment and an ice cube freezing compartment therein, a reserve tray compartment within said storage compartment and mounted bn and beneath said freezing compartment, a shutter controlling an air passage'from the freezing compartment to the tray compartment, and another shutter controlling an air passage from the tray compartment to said food storage compartment, said second shutter comprising a disc shaped member rotatively mounted upon the face ofsaid reserve tray, said disc shaped member being formed with an opening adapted to be aligned' and dlsaligned with a complementary opening formed in said reserve tray, said reserve tray being formed with a front opening closed by means of a removable door, and said second shutter being formed on said door.

7. In combination with a household refrigerator having a food storage compartment and an ice cube freezing compartment therein, a. reserve tray compartment Within said storage compartment and mounted on and beneath said freezing compartment, a shutter controlling an air passage from the freezing compartment to the tray compartment, and another shutter controlling an air passage from the tray compartment to said food storage compartment, and means for closing said first-named shutter when said second-named shutter is opened, and opening the first-named shutter when said second-named shutter is closed.

SOPHIE GNCZI. 

